In Photos: Edison's Electric Cars, Circa 1900

Here are some cool photos of electric cars from the turn of the century.

That's Thomas Edison in the photo at right, standing by GE’s Mercury Arc Rectifier. The car was considered “the most efficient device yet designed for charging electric vehicle batteries from alternating current, having an efficiency of at lest 80 percent in charging a standard 40-cell vehicle battery," according to GE.

The images aren't too surprising when you consider that by the year 1900, 38% of vehicles in the U.S. were electric (40% were powered by steam and 22% used gas, according to GE).

In fact, here's one little nugget about EVs circa 1910, from General Electric:

“The growing use of the electric automobile, with its many advantages of simplicity, ease of operation and noiselessness, has resulted in a demand for some means of conveniently charging the batteries.” -- GE Bulletin No. 4772, September 1910.

Funny thing. That graph might as well have come from an EV pitch last week.